


The Human Thing To Do

by Lucy_Claire



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 02:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5317835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucy_Claire/pseuds/Lucy_Claire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of Nero's destruction of Vulcan, Jim tries to help Spock cope the human way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Human Thing To Do

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: 'It's okay to cry, you know' requested by dragonvamp

It seemed unbelievable for everything that happened to Starfleet with Nero to have happened in the span of two days, Jim’s hearing about the Kobayashi Mary, the loss of Vulcan, being marooned on the Snowball in Space, meeting future!Spock and saving Earth, but it did.

Almost everyone was having a hard time taking it in as the ship docked above Earth and what remained of Vulcan and the crew went down to Earth to meet with a crowd of families, reporters and Starfleet officials, which was the last thing Jim wanted to do.

The shuttle docked and Jim, a few Vulcans and the bridge crew disembarked. Jim and Bones personally escorted Captain Pike out on his hover-stretcher and into an ambulance. Pike’s wife, Number One, and Bones got in with him and Jim was stuck frozen by the doors. Was he allowed to go with him or was he about to be shipped back to the court martial he escaped from?

Jim looked over his shoulder to the crew and searched for Spock, but among all the Vulcans he couldn’t spot the only one in Science Officer blues. 

He got in the ambulance and left before a reporter could get a hold of him, wondering how any of them, especially Spock, were coping right now.

Bones patted his shoulder, looking as tired as Jim felt. “It’s going to be fine now, you did all that you could.”

“Somehow I don’t think I did.”

“You and your hero complex.”

Jim set his face against the window and closed his eyes, feeling the cool glass against his skin. Despite trying to relax, he was still wound up over what happened on the bridge, how he got Spock to hand over the ship by provoking him, the look on his face after he realized that he had attacked Jim.

He looked close to tears, but knowing what he was, he would never let himself have the peace of mourning his mother the right way, by crying for her.

* * *

 

Jim somehow didn’t get booted out of Starfleet and was officially awarded the title of Captain and the Enterprise and was given a few months to hand-pick his main crew. Bones, Uhura, Scotty and Sulu were no-brainers but the lists for Science Officers and eligible First Officers was a bit overwhelming.

He would have liked to pick Spock, but Spock had chosen to go help settle the new Vulcan colony.

Just as he was wondering when he’d ever see him again Jim found a solitary Vulcan standing in front of the memorial set up outside Starfleet HQ. One that was built to honor all those who died thanks to Nero, even adding as many Vulcan names as they could from their surviving friends and family.

Spock reached out and touched a name in English: AMANDA GRAYSON.

He traced the grooves of the carved name with a finger, his face fighting to keep straight, his dark eyes shining.

Jim came up next to him as quietly as he could and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay to cry, you know.”

“Not for me.”

“You can’t start accepting it unless you do, I’ve learned the hard way that trying to cope with anything other than letting yourself feel is going to kill you.” 

Spock shook his head. “I can’t. I have spent my entire life training my mind to not react, to not feel, I can’t let it all go now.”

“Spock, your mother was human, do you think she would want you to pretend like nothing happened and go one with your life bottling everything up or would she want you to mourn her the way she would?”

Spock clutch the hand on his shoulder but didn’t remove it, he shook quietly and hung his head.

Quietly, tears flowed down Spock’s face, the only sound he made through his silent shaking was the sniffling and breathing. Jim turned up the hand under Spock’s and squeezed it tightly. “It’s okay.”

“You believe it will be better this way?”

“I know it.”

Spock wiped his face and lifted his head to look at Jim, eyes wet and sad. "Why are you being kind to me?"

"Because I can understand where you are now."

"Why sympathize with me? I marooned you and attempted to kill you, I have showed you nothing but contempt, your attitude makes no sense."

Jim smiled sadly at him. "Sympathy is wired into us, understanding and helping it's - it's just the human thing to do."

“Thank you, Kirk.”

“Jim, call me Jim.”

Spock returned the squeeze on his hand. “Thank you, Jim.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [Tumblr](http://lucyclairedelune.tumblr.com)


End file.
